Minnesota Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder (7) just gets away from Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Dezman Moses (54) during the third quarter of the Minnesota Vikings against the Green Bay Packers game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI on December 2, 2012.
(Pioneer Press: Sherri LaRose-Chiglo)

Here are two truths about this season's Vikings team. First, Adrian Peterson is putting up one of the most dominant, awe-inspiring seasons of any running back, ever. Second, if the team's passing game doesn't improve, it will be wasted effort.

The kind of knee injury Peterson suffered last December is, we always hear, a two-year injury. We are almost to the one-year anniversary of that devastating injury, but Peterson has played all year as if nothing ever happened.

Through just 12 games, he already has rushed for the second-highest season total of his career, and he's on pace to set a personal best. He's in the midst of the most dominating stretch he's ever played. Over the past six games, he's gone over 100 yards every time, with six touchdowns, and is averaging 158 yards a game.

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) celebrates with teammateafter a 82 yard touchdown during the second quarter of the Minnesota Vikings against the Green Bay Packers game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI on December 2, 2012. (Pioneer Press: Sherri LaRose-Chiglo)

That's an average! And it's not as though his yardage is padded by a ton of carries. During this run, he is averaging about 20 rushes per game and 7.8 yards per carry -- and has averaged at least 6 yards per carry in every single one of those games!

Despite this incredible run for Peterson, the Vikings are just 2-4 in those six games. For all Peterson's brilliance, the NFL is a passing league, and Christian Ponder needs to play better for this team to win.

Over the past two seasons, I've watched Ponder enough to know he has all the physical skills he needs to become a star in this league. He has plenty of arm strength. He can be very accurate -- he has four games this year completing at least 70 percent of his passes.

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He has nice mobility, which is a great asset for any quarterback. His physical tools are every bit as good as, if not better than, Matt Ryan's, Peyton Manning's or Tom Brady's when they entered the league.

But Ponder isn't yet where he needs to be. He hasn't put it all together. Watching him this past week against Green Bay, he looked uncomfortable in the pocket. He wasn't stepping into throws and throwing with confidence.

That's not to say he can't get there. Plenty of great quarterbacks needed more than two years to put things together. Troy Aikman had 20 touchdowns vs. 36 interceptions his first two years and went 7-19 as a starter. Steve Young was 3-16 with 11 touchdowns vs. 21 interceptions. But Ponder has to put in the work and do what it takes.

Part of his struggles this year are because the Vikings just don't have quality receivers. Especially with Percy Harvin out for the last three games, the rest of the receivers have been exposed. Jerome Simpson is just a guy. Michael Jenkins is just a guy. But that's no excuse; a great quarterback can succeed with whomever he has by adjusting the game plan to fit his team's capabilities, and Ponder just isn't there yet.

Ponder has suffered in public perception because there are so many other young quarterbacks succeeding right away in the NFL this year. This is a remarkable rookie class, with Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson playing phenomenally as rookies. Ponder's fellow second-year quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, is one of the big stories of the year as the midseason replacement for a Super Bowl contender.

But we should never let these prodigies trick us into thinking that becoming a star NFL quarterback is easy. What makes these instant success stories so remarkable is that they are so rare! We are witnessing a remarkable moment in NFL history, with some truly great young quarterbacks already making their marks. They all have some level of mobility, from Luck up to RGIII, but they all look to throw first and run second, which is critically important for a quarterback to be successful.

We're a bit spoiled with quarterback play around the league right now, so I hope we're all able to step back and appreciate these great performances -- and be patient with players who still have the potential to get there.

Fran Tarkenton is Minnesota Vikings analyst for TwinCities.com and the Pioneer Press. He is a former Vikings quarterback and a Pro Football Hall of Fame member. He also is an advocate for small businesses and the founder of OneMoreCustomer.com.